Rococo - (fr. rococo - decorative shell, shell, rocaille) - a style in art, in 1730-1789. Characteristic features of Rococo are sophistication, great decorative loading of interiors and compositions, graceful ornamental rhythm, great attention to mythology, personal comfort.
Main decorative element rococo - rocaille - ornament, decoration in the form of a connection natural stones with shells and plant leaves. Smooth curved stems, whimsical lines of the ornament fit into all the details of the interior, forming a single decorative background. Rocaille was used in interior design, garden arbors and rotunda, for facing terraces, finishing gates and fountains.
The ceremonial splendor of the Baroque began to tire the aristocrats. There was a craving for intimacy and personal comfort - that is why the features of Rococo appeared primarily in the decor of bedrooms, boudoirs, as well as in garden and park architecture. Armchairs and sofas with comfortable backs and soft seats, elegant small-form furniture, decorated with curved legs, intricate ornamentation, in which motifs were present. fancy plants and birds, figurines of winged babies, etc.
The architectural (more precisely, decorative) Rococo style appeared in France during the regency of Philippe d'Orleans (1715-1723) and reached its apogee under Louis XV, moved to other European countries and dominated it until the 1780s.
Abandoning the cold splendor, heavy and boring pomposity of the art of the times of Louis XIV and the Italian Baroque, Rococo architecture strives to be light, friendly, playful at all costs; she does not care about the organic combination and distribution of the parts of the structure, nor about the expediency of their forms, but disposes of them with complete arbitrariness, reaching the caprice, avoids strict symmetry, endlessly varies dissection and ornamental details and does not skimp on squandering the latter. In the creations of this architecture, straight lines and flat surfaces almost disappear, or at least masked by curly trim
Rococo period furniture is very elegant. It is richly decorated with complex whimsical carvings and gilding. Furniture legs are curved in a graceful line. Stucco, carving and gilding are also used in large quantities on the ceilings and walls. The walls are being decorated wood paneling. On the floor - patterned parquet and tapestry carpets. The color scheme of interiors in the rococo style is very delicate, pastel colors are used: pink, blue, light green in combination with gold and silver. Used as decoration a large number of mirrors in carved frames And lighting: huge luxurious chandeliers, sconces, candlesticks. In addition, various sculptures, figurines and other decorative interior items are required.
The fashion of the Rococo era was distinguished by the desire for refinement, sophistication and deliberate distortion of the "natural" lines of the human body.
Rococo fashion is considered to be feminine fashion, since in this era there was a maximum approximation of male fashion to typical female patterns. The ideal of a man is a refined courtier, a dandy. The ideal of a woman is a fragile, slender woman. In fashion - a wasp waist, narrow hips, fragile shoulders, a round face. This silhouette remained unchanged throughout the Rococo era. Women wear puffy skirts - panniers, creating the effect of an "inverted glass".
Women's hairstyle has undergone significant changes. So, in the 1720-1760s (after the fontange finally went out of fashion), a smooth, small hairstyle with rows of flowing curls was in fashion. Then the hairstyle began to "grow" in order to turn into the famous "frigates" and "gardens" that Marie Antoinette loved so much in the 1770s. Men first let go of the boucles from the sides, and wore a long braid at the back. White powdered wigs were in fashion, with curls curled at the sides, a pigtail and a bow at the back.
The main type of men's clothing remained the justocor, from the time of the baroque fashion, but later it was called abi. Under it they put on a camisole. They wore white shirts, lace frills and neckerchiefs. Justocor had a more direct form at the beginning of the century, then it underwent an evolution: its floors became wider, as if sticking out in different directions. The sleeves had wide cuffs. On pockets - huge valves. Women's dress also underwent a similar evolution: at first it was narrower, then it began to expand and expanded to the limit. The cocked hat remained popular as a headdress.
The Rococo era brought a fashion for pastel, muted (compared to the Baroque era) tones: pale blue, pale yellow, pink, gray-blue. If in the Baroque era all women look significant and mature (as if they were all over thirty), then Rococo is the time of young nymphs and shepherdesses who will never be more than twenty. Blush and powder help all ladies look young, although these faces turn into lifeless masks. Fashionable smells, perfumes - orris root, neroli, patchouli, rose water.
The appearance of the Rococo style is due to changes in philosophy, tastes and court life. The ideological basis of the style is eternal youth and beauty, gallant and melancholy grace, escape from reality, the desire to hide from reality in a shepherd's idyll and rural joys.
Rococo painting was most clearly manifested in France and Italy. Instead of contrasts and bright colors a different range of colors appeared in painting, light pastel colors, pink, bluish, lilac. The theme is dominated by pastorals, bucolic, that is, shepherd's motifs, where the characters are not burdened by the hardships of life, but indulge in the joys of love against the backdrop of beautiful landscapes surrounded by sheep. For the first time, the features of this style appeared in the work of Antoine Watteau, whose main theme was gallant festivities. His work is classified as realism, he depicted the life of the courtiers quite fairly. But in his paintings, a new style is clearly visible. Another, feature that time was erotica. Many paintings were created depicting nudes, various nymphs, Venus. The largest representative of the Rococo in France is Francois Boucher, who worked in the genre of portrait and landscape.
In Italy, the largest representative of that time is Giambattista Tiepolo (1696, Venice - 1770, Madrid). Much attention was then paid to frescoes, ceiling paintings, vaults, walls. There was even a special specialization among artists - quadraturists. He depicted illusory architectural forms that served as a frame, and even a background. In this case, what is drawn on a plane from a distance seems like a sculpture. There are such paintings, for example, in the lobby of the Winter Palace.
Rococo(“bizarre”, “capricious”, French rococo, from rocaille - fragments of stones, shells) -
style direction that dominated European art during the first three quarters of the 18th century.
It was not so much an independent artistic phenomenon as a phase, a certain stage of the pan-European Baroque style.
Rococo. France. Boucher, Francois. Birth of Venus
The term "rococo" arose in France at the end of the 18th century, in the heyday of classicism, as a contemptuous nickname for all mannered and pretentious art of the 18th century: a curved, capricious line resembling the outlines of a shell is its main feature.
Rococo art is a world of fiction and intimate feelings, decorative theatricality, sophistication, sophisticated sophistication, there is no place for heroism and pathos in it - they are replaced by a game of love, fantasy, lovely trinkets.
The heavy and pathetic solemnity of the Baroque is being replaced by a chamber fragile decorative effect.
The slogan of the short, short-lived "century" of Rococo is "art as pleasure", the purpose of which is to excite light, pleasant emotions, to entertain, to caress the eye. fancy pattern lines, exquisite combinations of light elegant colors, which was especially reflected in the architectural decoration of the interiors, with the new requirements of which Rococo painting was also in line.
The most common form of painting has become decorative panel, for the most part oval, round or bizarrely curved; The composition and drawing are based on a softly curved line, which gives the work a pretentiousness and elegance that is obligatory for this style.
In their coloristic searches, the masters went from Rubens, Veronese and the Venetians, but preferred not their rich, rich colors, but pale undertones: red becomes pink, blue - blue, lemon yellow, faded blue, pink, lilac colors, even fictional - like "the color of the thigh of a frightened nymph."
One of the founders of the Rococo style was the talented Antoine Watteau, who gave the most perfect embodiment of the principles of this style.
Rococo. France. Watteau, Antoine. Serenade
Emotionality and melancholic dreaminess give the characters of Watteau's images a special sophistication, which the immediate followers of the master no longer achieve, who turned his motives and manner into an exquisite and superficial fashion (Lancret, Pater, Quillar).
Francois Lemoine's student Francois Boucher, a master of entertaining love stories, a great colorist and draftsman, became the greatest master of the rocaille art proper.
Boucher's painting dictated the laws of a whole galaxy of masters (Natoire, the Vaialo brothers, Antoine Coypel, etc.), and this influence lasted in France until the revolution of 1789.
Among the significant Rococo masters were artists of the most diverse talents, who turned to the most diverse genres of painting: J. M. Nattier, Drouet, Tocque, Louis-Michel Vanleau, Latour, Perrono. The last major painter of the Rococo was Jean Honore Fragonard, a subtle portrait and landscape painter, like Watteau, who did not fit into the framework of a mere fashionable style.
Rococo sculpture is less significant and original than painting.
Widespread in the art of Rococo and the entire XVIII century. received portrait busts and small sculptural groups or statues of bathers, nymphs, cupids, they were placed in the park, decorated with them pavilions, salons, baths. The largest sculptors of the Rococo: J. B. Lemoine, Pigalle, Page, Falcone, Clodion.
Rococo architecture is characterized by the fact that the architect's main attention was focused on the interior.
In France, the classicism of the 17th century continued to dominate in the interpretation of the facade. Only a number of minor changes softened the severity of the architectural image.
The sculptural detail used to decorate the facade becomes more convex, acquires a self-contained meaning, no longer obeying the main architectural lines.
Flat pilasters of a large order are replaced by convex semi-columns, giving the wall a more picturesque look.
Rococo building plans are mostly asymmetrical and often built on round, oval and octagonal rooms; a sharp right angle is avoided even between the wall and the ceiling, and the connection line is masked by a relief ornament, the fixed plane of the wall is crushed, deepened, thus the rooms get an even more elegant bizarre shape.
The walls are painted in light, airy tones and decorated with picturesque panels, carved panels, mirrors in elaborate gilded frames.
The largest French Rococo architects: Robert Decotte, Gabriel, Boffrand, Oppenor, Delmer, Meissonier.
France was the legislator of Rococo aesthetics; European countries were unevenly captured by this trend.
Rococo was most widespread in Germany, especially in Prussia at the court of Frederick II. The architect Knobelsdorf created in Potsdam one of the most famous rocaille ensembles (Sans Souci).
The largest representatives of the Rococo in Germany are the architects Balthasar Neumann and Knobelsdorff, the painters Zick, Maulberch, Dietrich, and the sculptor Donner.
In Russia, Rococo developed under the direct influence of visiting French and German masters (Tokke, Roslin, Falcone); such masters as Rastrelli, Rinaldi (buildings in Oranienbaum), Ukhtomsky, Rokotov, Levitsky worked under this strong influence in Russia.
The heyday of graphics is extremely characteristic of the Rococo era.
Almost all major painters of the XVIII century. were also brilliant draftsmen (Watto, Fragonard), many masters devoted themselves entirely to graphic art (Saint-Aubin, Cochin, Debucourt in France, Chodovetsky in Germany). The design of the book, the skill of binding, furniture, bronze, etc. reached an unprecedented artistic height during this period.
Whimsical and whimsical, this style originated in France in the early 18th century. Rococo in architecture was not so much an independent direction as a certain moment in the development of the pan-European baroque.
Characteristic features of Rococo
The Rococo style in architecture is one of the first trends in art that moved away from established canons and turned to sophisticated and refined themes. Some researchers and experts believe that frivolity and frivolity are inherent in this direction. Nevertheless, it was it that had a significant impact on many other trends and styles in all of art.
Quite often, manifestations of Rococo in architecture, photos of which can be seen a little lower, are characterized as light and thoughtless. At the same time, refinement, refinement and perfection of forms, hiding behind seeming frivolity, are completely not noticed.
Rococo in art is primarily a fictional world of intimate experiences, apparent theatricality, decorative sophistication and sophistication. There is absolutely no place for pathos and heroism. They are replaced by fantasies, trinkets and a game of love.
A distinctive feature of this trend is a curved and whimsical line, which, with its outlines, resembles a shell, often found in architectural manifestations of rococo.
History of occurrence
The architectural direction called "rococo" appeared in France at the beginning of the 18th century. In those days, it was the so-called response to the "Grand Style" - monumental and unshakable classicism, official baroque, the clearest example of which is the Palace of Versailles of Louis XIV. in architecture and other areas of art dominated throughout almost the entire period of the reign of the Sun King.
It is worth noting that closer to the middle of the 18th century, the excessive frivolity of rococo began to gradually go out of fashion, but in the very center of the continent this trend in art was popular almost until the very end of the century.
The term "rococo" comes from French word rocaille, which means “quaint”, “capricious”, as well as “shards of stones” and “shells”. Over the entire existence of this style, an incredible amount of works of art and architecture has been created, but one of the most significant is the urban ensemble in France - a complex consisting of three squares in the city of Nancy in Lorraine.
Rococo on the European continent
The territory of the European continent was unevenly covered by the tendencies and trends of this trend in art. Nevertheless, some countries and states felt the influence of this style quite strongly. So, for example, France was rightfully considered the founder of Rococo, but the Rococo style in architecture reached its greatest distribution in Germany, having been especially strongly reflected in Prussia at the court of Frederick II.
The sophistication and sophistication of this trend found manifestations in the luxurious palace ensembles in Germany, France, Russia and some other countries.
The hotel was notable for its lavish interior design - rocaille interiors blended very harmoniously with the relatively austere exterior design of the building. The Rococo style in architecture over time began to spread throughout Europe. Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic soon felt the trends of this fashionable trend in art.
Rococo in Russia
The new-fangled European trends of rococo of the 18th century in Russia began to manifest themselves especially strongly in the middle of the century. For the most part, this direction has found wide application in the interior decoration of palace interiors and stucco molding on the facades of many buildings, as well as in some branches of arts and crafts. The trend of architectural style came to Russia from France almost half a century late.
In 1662, the King of France - Louis XIV - begins the construction of Versailles, and in 1710 Peterhof appears in Russia. Less than half a century later, Antonio Rinaldi built a Rococo palace in Oranienbaum, right in the middle of the Peterstadt fortress. In the 18th century, it was most often called the "Stone House", and at present the museum "Peter III's Palace" is located here.
Manifestations of Rococo in the architecture of the northern capital of Russia
The Stone House in has a resemblance to a park pavilion and is made in a rather unusual shape- a square with a corner cut off along a smooth arc. The top of the central door is decorated with a balcony with an exquisite wrought-iron lattice. The elegance and sophistication of the building is achieved through high and elongated windows on the second floor, as well as an unusual balustrade.
The interior of the Stone House, as well as the facade, is made in the Rococo style. Since that time, the decor of the room has become a separate direction in architecture. The interior in this style is characterized by sophistication, elegance and sophistication. The abundance of pastel shades, the combination of delicate white with green, blue or pink, as well as gold inlay - all these are the hallmarks of rococo in the architecture of St. Petersburg.
Along with this trend, another newfangled trend came to Russia - Chinese exoticism, which was reflected in the trinkets that decorated the room, as well as entire spacious halls decorated in this style.
Distinctive features of Rococo
The distinctive features of the architectural rococo from the monumental and ponderous baroque are the characteristic lightness, grace and mannerisms. Architects no longer sought to build long and high halls, but preferred small cozy rooms with high windows, which, in turn, were grouped around the central staircase, thus providing maximum convenience for all residents of the house.
For the most part, buildings are becoming more and more like a so-called mansion-hotel, which is intended for a single family. Such an architectural layout became popular, as a result of which many buildings, previously built in the pompous and monumental Baroque style, began to be rebuilt.
In addition, despite the abundance of jewelry and other decorative elements, Rococo did not look ponderous and monumental. Quite the contrary - it seemed light and airy thanks to the sophistication and sophistication of all the details and the harmoniously matched color scheme.
Rococo in the interior decoration of buildings
The Rococo era affected not only trends and trends in architecture - this style did not bypass other aspects of art. Moreover, for most architects of that time, it was the interior that was the very place where the new direction found its most striking manifestation. The layout of buildings was most often asymmetric; round, oval and even octagonal rooms were built.
In the 18th century, Rococo, whose architecture was distinguished by lightness and grace, firmly entered the interior decoration of the premises. Furnishings of rooms, dishes and draperies, as well as little things pleasing to the eye, which gave the room even more sophistication - all this is characteristic of the interior in the Rococo style.
Chinese accent in Rococo
As already mentioned a little above, the newfangled direction in the architecture of the 18th century was somehow combined with Chinese echoes. During this era in interior decoration more and more often one could notice elements of oriental culture, which were the best suited for the rococo style. The rooms were divided into peculiar zones with the help of light screens and partitions, and in the kitchen one could more and more often notice original sets and other dishes made of Chinese porcelain.
The rooms were characterized natural shades and Trees with thin trunks, aquarium fish and the graceful beauty of orchids, the abundance of gilding and other Chinese motifs - all this was harmoniously combined in the interior of the Rococo era.
Femininity in architectural rococo
In order to be imbued with all the beauty and atmosphere of this trend in art and architecture, it is not enough just to see the beautiful - you need to be able to feel it. It is no coincidence, perhaps, that the feminine principle is attributed to this style. Suffice it to recall that all the premises were rebuilt from large and spacious into small, secluded and intimate rooms. Femininity was felt in absolutely everything. Moreover, even the ceremonial halls and rooms were more like boudoirs - everything in them was too chamber and intimate.
Light and delicate shades of the rooms, smooth and graceful curves of the walls, a large number of mirrors, as well as lace ornamental elements and an abundance of stucco with picturesque inserts - can any other style be so close to beauty?
Playful and graceful architectural style perfectly conveys the features of the female character.
Rococo today
XVIII century - the time of Rococo in the architecture of Russia. However, even now there are fans of this refined and sophisticated style.
Pastel colors, smooth lines and gold trim, light shades and a large number of cute accessories, all kinds of patterns and swirls, as well as unusual mirrors and various draperies - these are some of the most important distinctive features this architectural trend.
Decorating a room in the style of the 18th century is a great opportunity to feel like a real aristocrat. Opportunities and development prospects furniture companies, as well as the incredible fantasies of designers and decorators will help create an original and unusual room in the rococo style. In such rooms you can truly enjoy life and enjoy every new day.
Rococo is called the most frivolous and thoughtless of all styles in art. Why, then, is Rococo so significant for Russian visual culture? Why does the definition from the word "rococo" sound so exotic to our ears - "rocaille"? What is the main difference between Rococo and Baroque, which people of little knowledge often confuse? Finally, why is Rococo the direct and immediate ancestor of modern glossy culture?
Eduard Petrovich Gau. Living room in the second rococo style
Francois Bush. Toilet of Venus, 1751. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rococo was born in France in the 18th century, although the name itself would only legitimize the next century, the nineteenth.
The style got its name from the French word rocaille - shell or shell. Since ancient times, artificial grottoes and bowls of fountains have been decorated with shells; later, ornaments that repeat the twisted, rounded outlines of shells began to be actively used in interior design. TO XVIII century interest in them only grew. They became more complex and intertwined, becoming more sophisticated and bizarre. Such ornaments were called rocaille, and the style itself, built on capricious curved lines and the most delicate color overflows, was called rococo, respectively.
Antoine Watteau. Gersin shop sign
1720, 308×163 cm
They say that this picture, written by the 37-year-old artist before his death, Antoine Watteau prophesied the future of Rococo. All the coloristic possibilities of this style are already contained in the "Gersin's Shop": no contrasts, but instead - a rich and subtle pastel palette with the finest color transitions.
Rococo is a way of life
The appearance of the Rococo style is associated with the "end of the beautiful era" - the era of Louis XIV. It is no coincidence that the famous "Gersin's Shop" depicts how the portrait of the Sun King is removed from the wall and put into a box.
But it would be wrong to identify the entire XVIII century only with the Rococo style. This age is diverse like no other of the previous ones. While changing, passionate baroque and strict classicism continue to exist in art. Sentimentalism is born. Progressive criticism in the person of Denis Diderot even tries to guess the beginnings of realism.
And yet it is precisely the gallant, capricious, ornate rococo that becomes a landmark for the 18th century. No wonder this "century of wigs, carriages, minuets, cocked hats" (Nathan Eidelman) is also called the "gallant age." Gallant age - gallant art.
Jean Honore Fragonard. Swing (Happy Swing Opportunities)
1767, 65×81 cm
Winding branches of trees, a beauty fluttering with the ease of a moth, her shoe flying along a curved rocaille trajectory, languid glances and bare knees. In the painting by Jean-Honore Fragonard "Swing" - the quintessence of the Rococo lifestyle.
With the departure of Louis XIV from the stage, the grandiose splendor of baroque court festivities goes out of fashion. And in general - everything majestic and everything solemn is no longer comme il faut.
Regent Philippe d'Orleans, and then King Louis XV, prefer a somewhat more intimate, but also more comfortable lifestyle. He is concentrated not in a wide circle of courtiers, but in a close, almost intimate circle of like-minded friends.
The Rococo philosophy is neo-Epicureanism. Only pleasure is the essence of human life. The ideal pastime is carefree flirting in the bosom of nature. Love and celebration become synonymous with Rococo.
Antoine Watteau. The joys of the ball
1714, 65×52 cm
From the ceremonial halls, art moves smoothly into the boudoir. Rococo interiors are cozy and comfortable. Exquisite couches with soft backs and cabriole chairs with twisted legs appeared during the Rococo era, providing comfort to the body, silk tapestries on the walls and small elegant figurines that delight the eye.
Michel Clodion, whom his contemporaries called "Fragonard in sculpture", defended the artistic principles of Rococo - note the intricately curving and intertwining lines in his figurine "Satyr and Bacchante".
Caprice and whim - the "alpha and omega" of Rococo. This applies to both the general mood and the art forms themselves. Improvisation replaces discipline. Bizarre asymmetry defeats classic balance and clarity.
Rococo age
An interesting feature of the Rococo style is its relationship to age. Almost for the first time in history, old age ceases to be associated with wisdom and honor. Aging is now undesirable and even shameful. This applies not only to women, but also to men, because the very type of appearance, popular during the Rococo era, is gender-universal.
Francois Bush. Head of Louis XV / 1729. Los Angeles, Getty Museum.
Dmitry Levitsky. Portrait of Maria Dyakova. Fragment. 1778. Moscow. State Tretyakov Gallery.
The appearance of men and women in Rococo art becomes surprisingly similar. Both of them are equally pampered and capricious. Both of them are beautifully dressed. And even men and women of the gallant age use blush and powder with equal care, because it is important for them to look their best - maybe they will be able to deceive age?
The Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna endured aging so painfully and was terribly afraid of dying that they began to hide the facts of the death of her acquaintances from her. The courtiers did not dare to speak with her "neither about Voltaire, nor about diseases, nor about the dead, nor about beautiful women."
An example of Russian Rococo is the portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna by Ivan Argunov.
Ivan Petrovich Argunov. Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna
By the way, Elizabeth's father Peter I tried to marry her to a peer and heir to the French throne, Louis XV, but it did not work out. However, the passion for music, masquerades, gallant festivities and rococo style remained with the Empress for life.
Rocaille interior of the Grand Palace in Peterhof. The palace was built for a century and a half, initially in the style of baroque and classicism, and during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, it received grandiose refinement and richness in the rococo style.
So, old age for Rococo did not exist. But what about another important age - children's? Yes the same! After all, the idea itself is not relevant age-related changes. Children, according to 18th-century beliefs, are just little adults. Therefore, they should be dressed up in a completely adult way. Moreover, their games and fun are exactly copied by adults. Children from the famous painting by Antoine Watteau "gallantly" spend time: the boys play music, the girl is ready to start dancing.
Antoine Watteau. Dance
1721. Oil on Canvas
Rococo painting deliberately chooses situations where any opportunity for gallantry or love affairs can be extracted.
Pietro Longhi. morning chocolate
Nicholas Lancre. Skate mount
Antoine Watteau. Notes
1717
Without deviating too much from the truth, we can say that Rococo is the "glamor" of the 18th century, entirely due to a special way of life: rich, idle, filled with beauty and grace.
From the world of rococo, as well as from gloss, old age and illness, poverty and ugliness are firmly banished.
And also Rococo painting, like glossy photo, considers temptation to be his main theme. Seduction as a quality, seduction as a process - these are his key themes. And in this sense, Rococo is indeed the direct predecessor of the glossy subculture.
Jean Honore Fragonard. Sneak kiss
1780s, 55×45 cm
"Boudoir painting" of the Rococo era
The notorious frivolity of Rococo is, of course, not vignettes and curls. And not only gallant festivities and exhausting idleness. This is also a new reading of the erotic theme.
But after all, the nude, you object, is the basis of the fine arts since antiquity, and a thorough knowledge of human anatomy and a perspective transmission of angles and movement are the merit of the Renaissance. Right! What new did Rococo bring to the theme of “nude”?
The answer is obvious: a distinct taste of voluptuousness. For example, one of the critics called this painting by Francois Boucher “the longest kiss in the history of Western European painting”:
Francois Bush. Hercules and Omphale
1731, 74×90 cm
Interestingly, the founder of the French Rococo, Antoine Watteau, was shy of his erotic works, and after his death he even bequeathed some to be burned. But his painting "Toilet", however, marked the beginning of the "boudoir genre." Already in Boucher and Fragonard, nudity does not need to be “justified by antiquity”, but acquires a modern sound and shamelessly erotic background.
Antoine Watteau. Toilet.
1717. London, Wallace Collection.
Jean Honore Fragonard. Girl in bed playing with her dog
1765. Munich, Alte Pinakothek.
Francois Bush. Dark-haired odalisque
1745, 53×64 cm
“His paintings are not devoid of voluptuousness,” his most evil critic Denis Diderot wrote ironically about Boucher's unbridled eroticism. - Bare legs, thighs, breasts, buttocks. They are interesting to me because of my depravity, and not at all because of the talent of the artist.
Rococo: cheat sheet
Rococo artists
Antoine Watteau, Francois Boucher, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Ivan Argunov, Nicola Lancret, Jean-Marc Nattier, Charles-André van Loo, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, Fyodor Rokotov, Dmitry Levitsky, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Pietro Longhi, Bernardo Bellotto, Adelaide Labille-Guillard
Iconic rococo style paintings
Antoine Watteau. Departure for the island of Cythera. A canvas depicting how amorous adventurers set off en masse in the direction of the island of love. French academicians came up with a separate, new genre for this picture of Watteau - “gallant festival”. Actually, this definition can be used to designate the whole way of life in the Rococo style.
Francois Bush. Portrait of Madame de Pompadour. A small neat head instead of massive baroque wigs, "doll" hands and feet, a sharp contrast between a narrow bodice and the widest skirt. The favorite of Louis XV was the main trendsetter of her era, the popularizer of the rococo and at the same time its fashion icon. From this picture, one can successfully study the rocaille interior. And the Rococo style will otherwise be called the “Pompadour style”.
Antoine Watteau. Departure for the island of Cythera
1717, 194×129 cm
Francois Bush. Portrait of Madame de Pompadour
1756, 157×201 cm
You are a layman if:
Until now, you confuse rococo and baroque only because both styles are characterized by pomp and richness of decor.
The main difference between Rococo and Baroque is in ideology, not in aesthetics: Baroque is religious art in its origin, Rococo is purely secular. Baroque affirms the religious dogmas of the “correct faith” with passion and seriousness. Rococo is alien to both seriousness and genuine passion.
You are an expert if:
Easily isolate with your eyes in the interweaving of decorative ornaments the outlines of shells and rocaille S-shaped curls.
Distinguish the color of Watteau from the "pearl harmony" of his follower Boucher.
You know that the style of "chinoiserie" (literally translated from French - Chinese) with all the fans, pagodas, screens and Chinese umbrellas is an offshoot of the Rococo style.
Francois Bush. Chinese garden
1742, 40×48 cm
A style in art (mainly in interior design), which arose in France in the first half of the 18th century (according to various sources - until the end of the century, about a century, etc., there is no exact end date) as a development of the Baroque style. Sometimes the Rococo style is defined as the last, crisis phase of the development of the Baroque. Both Rococo and Baroque are saturated and decorative, but if the baroque splendor is tense, dynamic, then the rocaille is gentle and relaxed. In general, French Rococo is more connected with the forms of the Regency style of the early 18th century.
Rococo immediately arose as a chamber style of aristocratic living rooms and boudoirs, interior design, decorative and applied arts and was practically not reflected in the architectural exterior. Rococo is an original phenomenon that has no prototypes in the history of art. During this period, the eastern, and, above all, Chinese influence - the so-called. style chinoiserie. Fine in form, decorated with delicate, exquisite decoration, the artistic products of Chinese masters were in perfect harmony with the style that flourished in European courts.
Ornament - the main spokesman of this era, had 2 forms of development: 1) a tendency to naturalization (decor in the form of small colored garlands with cupids, ribbons), 2) the main thing - abstraction, asymmetry of both decorative elements and the composition itself. It all comes down to rocaille, he replaced the motif of the volute (baroque). Reflected the inner emptiness of the spiritual world of the European noble society.
Characteristic features of Rococo are sophistication, great decorative loading of interiors and compositions, graceful ornamental rhythm, great attention to mythology, personal comfort. The style received its highest development in architecture in Bavaria.
Porcelain as a material, with its snow-white surface and fine, miniature painting, was one of the main artistic discoveries of the Rococo era.
The Rococo style for the first time raised the comfort and convenience of the interior to the rank of art. Spreading across Europe, the Rococo style acquired local characteristics in each of the countries. In France, with all the splendor of decoration, the Rococo style retained the features of subtle nobility. In the interiors of Germany, lacquered colorful furniture, designed for a less sophisticated taste, has become more common. In Austria, the Rococo style expressed itself in calm, homely forms. Dutch rococo furniture is distinguished by simplicity and brevity of lines. The originality of English Rococo is given by admixtures from Gothic and Chinese elements.
Architecture
Generally: The style did not find a vivid expression in the architecture, but more penetrated into the interior. Rococo architecture strives to be light, affable, avoids strict symmetry, endlessly varies dismemberment and ornamental details and does not skimp on squandering the latter. In the creations of this architecture, straight lines and flat surfaces almost disappear, or at least are masked by figured finishes; none of the established orders is carried out in its pure form; columns lengthen, then shorten and twist in a helical shape; their capitals are distorted by coquettish alterations and additions, the cornices are placed above the cornices; high pilasters and huge caryatids prop up insignificant ledges with a cornice protruding forward; the roofs are girded along the edge with balustrades with bottle-shaped balusters and with pedestals placed at some distance from each other, on which vases or statues are placed; pediments, representing breaking convex and hollow lines, are also crowned with vases, pyramids, sculptural figures, trophies and other similar items. Everywhere, framed by windows, doors, wall spaces inside the building, in plafonds, intricate stucco ornamentation is used, consisting of curls that vaguely resemble the leaves of plants, convex shields, incorrectly surrounded by the same curls, masks, flower garlands and festoons, shells, rough stones (rocaille), etc.
Specifically:In the mansions and hotels of the largest French Rococo architects : Robert Decotte, Gabriel, Boffrand, Oppenor, Delmer, Meissonier, they often deviated from logical clarity and rational subordination of parts to the whole. The sculptural detail used to decorate the facade becomes more convex, acquires a self-contained meaning, no longer obeying the main architectural lines. Flat pilasters of a large order are replaced by convex semi-columns, giving the wall a more picturesque look.
A striking example of Rococo is considered to be Subise hotel in Paris designed by Pierre Alexis Delmer (1675-1745). In terms of its exterior, the hotel is strict and classic, with only a few structural elements: convex sculptural details and semi-columns decorating the facade of the building. But it should be noted that Rococo architecture in France is characterized by the fact that the architect's main attention was focused not on the exterior, but on the interior, so the main changes affected, first of all, the internal layout of buildings.
Germany gives us a much more vivid, full-scale example of the flourishing of rocaille art in architecture (the largest representatives of the rococo here are the architects Balthasar Neumann and Knobelsdorff), and, above all, in areas not in demand by the French tradition. It was in Germany that such unique phenomena as the summer pleasure residence and rococo church architecture were formed - areas that did not receive any distribution in France, although it was in them that all the formal characteristics and aesthetic possibilities of the style showed themselves especially convincingly and exhaustively. Finally, the German region today retains the largest number of Rococo monuments, giving the most consistent and complete picture of this art.
The most successful example of German Rococo is the royal residence of Sanssouci, built by the architect Wenzelaus Knobelsdorff (1699-1753) in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam for King Frederick II of Prussia.
Another significant monument of the era - the Amalienburg Palace near Munich (Bavaria), built by the architect Francois Cuville (1695-1768), who came from France, is even more modest in size than the residence of the Prussian king. This small building is an example of strict and restrained French taste.
Construction activity in other countries lags far behind France and Germany.
